Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Zion National Park, UT

P5050066 N0t being much of a writer, it is hard to describe the beauty of this place. Zion National Park is by far the most impressive park we’ve visited.  We got a nice shady site at the Watchman Campground, with great views of the mountains and wildlife. These deer have visited us a couple times.

P5040003Because 3 million people come here every year, in 2000 they went to a mandatory shuttle system to keep so many cars from polluting the park. We were a little apprehensive, but it is really a great system. Our first day here, we made the short walk to the visitor center, where the shuttle originates. You can go into the park, or take another shuttle to the nearby town of Springdale, where there are nice shops and restaurants. We found great pizza  and beer at the Pizza and Noodle, which happens to be one of the shuttle stops.  The driver was quite entertaining, too, giving us some history and entertainment along the drive.

Of course, before  Jim was allowed to eat pizza, we had to do some hiking. For our first day, we just did several easy, short hikes, totaling over 4 miles. These are some photos from the  Riverside Walk,

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Weeping Rock,

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and Lower Emerald Pools.

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And later from our campsite as the moon was rising.

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